Chapter 256 I Can't Believe You
Agasson has been staying in Qicha Fortress for nearly a month. To be honest, he has been extremely nervous during this period.
After the breakdown of negotiations with King Ulric, Agathon knew that the Sarleon Kingdom would most likely send a large army to attack. He also knew that he had to repel the Sarleon Kingdom's army at least once before he could start negotiations again.
So he placed some scouts in the surrounding area to keep an eye on the recent situation.
However, he didn't understand the situation during this period at all...
First, a large army from the Kingdom of Fierce Lions quickly arrived a few dozen miles east of the Qicha Fortress. The size of the army was quite terrifying, with more than a thousand "baggage wagons" alone.
Agathon thought that this was probably the Sarleon Kingdom preparing for a long siege, so he prepared himself to be besieged.
Not only did he ask his own troops to save rations and prepare for a protracted war, he also divided the troops into two shifts and kept them in a tense defensive posture.
But who would have known that the army would slowly move back and forth from north to south near the Qicha Fortress, and then from south to north, but would never come to attack.
Agathon is not afraid of fighting, but this situation of constantly rubbing back and forth without attacking is too weird...
This made Agasson feel uneasy. If he wanted to come, he could come, and if he wanted to leave, he could leave... He kept lingering at the door and didn't come in. Wasn't this just keeping him in suspense?
Moreover, Agathon knew that the flag leading the army was Leon's flag - in Agathon's eyes, Leon was a very powerful master of strategy, so Agathon did not dare to relax at all.
As a result, the army lingered back and forth near the Qicha Fortress, causing Agathon to suffer from insomnia every day - he was always worried about what strange means Li Ang would use, and he really couldn't sleep.
And then, 'Leon's army' went east - Eric took the caravan further east, out of Agasson's reconnaissance range.
This made Agasson even more worried, fearing that Leon would launch an attack on the empire from Karen Deer Castle - the eastern part of the empire was completely helpless and might not be able to stop Leon!
But just when Agasson was panicking and planning to withdraw from Qicha Fortress to try to block or delay "Leon's army", a large force of the D'Shar people passed by from the west of Qicha Fortress...
Agathon was even more panicked now. Since the D'Shar dared to cross the Sava River, it meant that the Sava River Fort had fallen. But General Titus and the Phoenix Knights could not be killed so easily, right?
Could it be that General Titus surrendered to the enemy?
Agathon was almost in despair at that time.
He knew that no matter whether Titus surrendered to the enemy or not, at least the Sava River Fort was definitely gone. Without the Sava River Fort, he would be trapped alone in the Fierce Lion Territory...
There is Leon's army in the east, the Sava River Fort in the south has been captured by the Desha people, and the Desha army has also gone to the west - even if he wants to retreat, there is no way to go!
Soon afterwards, he discovered that the D'Shar army had returned along the same route, apparently having suffered a defeat at the gates of Sarleon.
Originally, Agasson was ready to abandon the Seven Forks Fortress at this time. After all, the D'Shar army of thousands of people was defeated at the foot of the Sarleon City, which showed that the current strength of the Sarleon Kingdom was far beyond his imagination.
Agathon thought it was no wonder that Ulric refused to negotiate. After the Kingdom of Sarleon formed such a large-scale army in the east, how could the remaining troops in Sarleon be able to defeat the D'Shar army?
With such strength, there is no need to negotiate with me. Maybe the Kingdom of Sarleon will split its troops into two groups and attack the Bacchus Empire from the directions of Sava River Fort and Karen Deer Fort at the same time. After all, King Ulric always likes to use the double-headed tactic...
So Agasson asked his men to get ready, intending to implement another dangerous plan - abandon Qicha Fortress and set it on fire, using the fire to attract the attention of all the Sarleon Kingdom troops, and then try to take a detour from the north to attack the heartland of Sarleon Kingdom.
For example - Lion Lake City!
This judgment is indeed very accurate. The Lion Lake City is indeed very empty now. If Agasson really launches a surprise attack on the Lion Lake City, he will most likely succeed in one strike.
Agathon felt that if a place like Lion Lake City was captured, the Kingdom of the Fierce Lion would definitely not send troops abroad for a while, and the Bacchus Empire would definitely have time to recover. Even if he died in the Fierce Lion Territory, at least Emperor Marius could use this time to organize a large army to stop the enemy.
But before he implemented this plan, Leon's team appeared in Agasson's eyes again - in fact, it was that caravan, which came slowly from the east again and stationed directly near the Qicha Fortress. Agasson could see it with his naked eyes on the city wall.
This was because Eric heard that the Desha army had fled, so he planned to take the caravan back to the gathering point designated by Leon. In fact, Leon in Changhe Town had not received any news at this time, so naturally no new orders came.
After being taken back and forth several times, the merchants probably realized that the battle situation might be a bit complicated. Now they are much more obedient than at the beginning, and the order seems to be much better - from a distance, they look more like a regular army.
As a result, Agathon thought that Leon had seen through his plan - in Agathon's mind, Leon was a strategist of the same level as Emperor Marius. After all, Emperor Marius also treated Leon as an equal in his words.
So Agasson did not dare to move. He felt that Leon's army was so close yet stationed there, probably waiting for him to leave the Qicha Fortress and then intercept him outside the city.
Agathon felt that Leon had deliberately trapped him in the Qicha Fortress , so he had to give up his plan. He lamented that Leon was really a terrible enemy who could see through people's hearts... So he once again ordered the troops to work in two shifts to make every effort to defend, and was completely prepared for a fight to the death.
So for the past month, Agasson had basically not slept well and had no appetite. He had lost a lot of weight and felt dazed all day long.
When he saw the Lord appear at the gate of Qicha Fortress, Agasson felt that he must be hallucinating. He sighed on the spot, "The time has come", and felt that he might not live long...
It was under such circumstances that Leon met General Agathon.
To be honest, at first glance, Li Ang didn't recognize that the thin and emaciated patient in front of him was actually Agathon.
His face was pale, his hair and beard were disheveled, his eyes were lifeless… He was so thin that he could hardly hold up his armor, his dark circles looked sunken, and he kept talking to himself.
Li Ang once thought that this guy was a drug addict, and he was obviously in a drugged state...
Because the first thing Agathon said when he saw Leon was: "Count Leon... you are finally here... I have been dreaming about you every time I close my eyes recently..."
The Lord almost kicked him at that time - this damn resentful expression and tone made her look like she was abandoned by Li Ang...
By the time Leon finally recognized that this was indeed Agathon himself, Agathon had already begun to express his feelings in the form of a last will.
"Sir Leon, I know that under the current circumstances, I am no longer qualified to ask for anything. But I cannot watch the Bacchus Empire being invaded - especially I cannot watch you lead a large army to invade the empire..."
Agathon sounded a little weak when he spoke, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Li Ang became more and more like that of a resentful woman.
"Me? Invading the Empire ? Wait... Agathon, do you have any misunderstandings..."
Li Ang is now even more confused than Agasson: "When did I ever say I would attack the Bacchus Empire?"
"Don't hide it from me... You are here, you must be here to persuade us to surrender, right? Don't even think about it, I will defend Qicha Fortress to the death... Even if I die here, I will hold you back..."
Agasson was probably a little neurotic now, gritting his teeth and showing a firm attitude.
The lord was even more confused: "Hey, hey! Agasson...can you please listen to me!"
"I won't surrender! Give up your unrealistic idea!"
Agasson stared at the lord with his red eyes, as if he was afraid that Li Ang would say something to persuade him to surrender, or perhaps he was worried that Li Ang would use some means.
“Surrender! What’s the point of asking you to surrender? I came to you to ask if you are willing to form an alliance with me and attack the Principality of Dexia together!”
Li Ang finally couldn't help but raise his voice, and without caring whether Agasson continued to speak or not, he just said what he wanted to say.
"Hehe, there is only Agasson who died in the battle, no..."
Agathon had been making heroic statements, but suddenly he stopped talking when he heard the word "alliance". After a long while, he hesitated and spoke again: "Um... did you just say that you wanted to form an alliance with me?"
"Yes! You can first sign a truce with me on behalf of the Bacchus Empire, and then you go to find Emperor Marius. I will form an alliance with His Majesty Marius at the Sava River Fort, and then invade Dexia together with the Bacchus Empire."
The lord heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Agathon could finally speak properly.
"This... you have some conspiracy, right? Are you really planning to form an alliance with the Empire like this?"
Agasson obviously didn't expect Leon's conditions to be so easy. It felt a little unreal. This was completely the direction of development that he had never dared to think about.
"Agason, are you on drugs? Considering the situation you're facing now, do I really need to lie to you? To be honest, judging from the current situation, you being trapped in the fortress will not be of any use at all. I can even burn down the Qicha Fortress and suffocate you to death inside - rebuilding the fortress won't cost me any money anyway!"
Li Ang really had no intention of fooling anyone this time. Seeing that Agasson was suspicious, the lord naturally stopped being polite when speaking.
But to be honest, it was actually very difficult for Leon to set fire to the Qicha Fortress. He just said it casually to express his emotion - unless it was set on fire by the insiders themselves, this kind of bastion is easy to defend and it is difficult to get close.
The shooting angle of the crossbows on the bastion is very large, with basically no blind spots. If you really dare to set a fire, you must be prepared to suffer thousands of casualties.
But when Li Ang mentioned that "the Qicha Fortress was burned down", Agasson's heart sank.
Agathon thought that the lord had indeed guessed his plan to burn down the fortress and rush thousands of miles away, and when he guessed his plan, he came to him in person and offered such easy conditions - this was probably some conspiracy, probably to deceive him.
Agathon felt that if he led the army as well as this formidable enemy, he might not be able to fight against Leon, and he did not want to try Leon's "conspiracy".
But now, this terrible enemy was right in front of him. He was standing at the gate of Qicha Fortress, only three steps away from him.
The guards on both sides were very far away...
Agasson closed his eyes, which were red and dry due to lack of sleep, and slowly reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Count Leon, you are the most powerful enemy I have ever encountered in my life... I... can't believe you!"
Agasson seemed to be making some kind of decision, and there was a hint of determination in his words.
As the words "I can't believe you" came out of his mouth, Agasson gathered all his strength, stepped forward, and swung out a sword that condensed all his life's learning.
There is always distrust between people.
Of course, people in this world don’t always have everything go smoothly, and it’s common for others not to trust you…
But the lord felt very miserable. Why was it that no one believed him when he told the truth?
In the past, when I really wanted to fool people, they believed me...
Why is it so difficult to be an honest gentleman?
Originally, Leon sincerely wanted to form an alliance with the Bacchus Empire and invade D'Shar together. This would be very beneficial to both the Kingdom of Sarleon and Bacchus, as well as to Leon himself and the caravan. It was originally a win-win situation.
According to the Lord's own prediction, General Agasson would gladly accept this situation, and then he would not only be able to peacefully retake the Qicha Fortress, but also invade Desha together with the troops of the Bacchus Empire to reduce the pressure of the war - after all, Leon wanted to develop the market, and with the income from the caravan, his troops would not have to compete with the Bacchus Empire for the spoils.
But Agasson had been suffering in Qicha Fortress for the past month, and his mind was full of thoughts of a decisive battle. He was indeed a little dazed, and he kept thinking about what conspiracy this terrible enemy Leon might have...
So the result of this meeting was that Leon was wounded by the sword, and Agasson had his ribs broken by a kick from Leon in a sudden counterattack.
Agathon wanted to kill this great enemy who, in his opinion, could lead to the demise of the empire...
In Agasson's mind, everything that Leon, the "master of strategy", said must be carefully considered - Leon wanted to form an alliance with Emperor Marius in the Sava River Castle? Was it really for the purpose of forming an alliance?
What if he wanted to lure the Emperor to the Sava River Fort, and then mobilize a large army to completely destroy the Bacchus Empire in one battle?
Given the reputation Leon had established by eliminating the Snake Cult and controlling the Red Death in Bacchus, if Emperor Marius was no longer around, the people of Bacchus probably wouldn't object too much to Leon becoming the new ruler of the south, right?
Could it be that Li Ang worked so hard to destroy the Snake Cult just for this moment?
His Majesty the Emperor said that Li Ang was thinking about the entire continent just like him, so would Li Ang also have the same ambition to rule the entire continent as His Majesty the Emperor?
He should have, otherwise, why would he send troops to fight against the Snake Cult for the sake of the people of Bacchus?
Since I can't deal with this great enemy, and His Majesty the Emperor also finds it difficult to deal with him, then it's best to make this great enemy disappear... He is standing in front of me now. He is the Marshal of the Kingdom of Fierce Lions. If he dies, the crisis of the Bacchus Empire can be resolved!
This was what Agathon was thinking when he swung the sword - this thought was actually reasonable.
Agathon's swordsmanship was actually very good, and he gathered all his energy when he swung the sword - he knew that Leon was very skilled, and he knew that he only had one chance to strike with the sword.
Li Ang never expected that Agathon would suddenly attack at this moment, and what Agathon used was actually the real sword-drawing technique. This sword was so sudden that even the sword light could not be seen.
The lord was indeed stabbed, and the sword was so powerful that even the enchanted armor made by the Noldor on Leon's body could not block it.
However, this sword did not kill Li Ang after all. A small object that the lord had been holding in his arms blocked the tip of the sword. Then the sword slipped and left a half-foot long wound on Li Ang's chest.
What blocked the tip of the sword was the dragon tear, the one obtained from Alaric the Noisy One of the Drunkards.
This dragon tear was shattered by Agasson's sword, but it saved Leon's life.
